In the latest quarter ended June 28, 2014, Apple’s net sales in Greater China, which includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, expanded to $5.94 billion, up by 28 percent compared to the same period a year ago. In its 10-K filing, Apple characterized its year-over-year increase in Greater China as “significantly higher than those experienced by the Company overall.”

Apple pointed out that growth in net sales and unit sales of the iPhone was “especially strong” in the greater China region, thanks to the successful launch of new iPhones in Greater China at the end of 2013, increased demand for Apple’s entry-priced iPhones, and the addition of China Mobile in the second quarter of 2014.

Chinese iPhone sales were up 48 percent, Mac sales were up 39 percent, and iPad sales were up a whopping 51%. The iPad growth in China is noteworthy, especially when compared to the industry’s overall tablet market in China, which is said to be growing at 21 percent, according to IDC.

According to Cook, Apple grew its overall revenues in China, including its retail stories, at 31 percent.

Apple vs. Samsung in China
Cook, during the call, described Apple’s business prospect in China in coming months -- especially through its partnership with China mobile -- as “a watershed moment.”

Now compare that statement to Samsung, which disclosed earlier this month that its second-quarter operating profit dropped to a two-year low.

While blaming its fourth straight quarter of profit decline on the South Korean currency's appreciation against the US dollar and the euro, Samsung also acknowledged that sales of its midrange and low-end smartphones were weak in China and some European countries, due to stiff competition and slow demand.

Make no mistake. Samsung continues to lead the Chinese smartphone market with 18 percent market share in the first quarter of 2014, according to Counterpoint, a market research firm.

In contrast, Apple, with a 10 percent market share, is still trailing behind Lenovo, Xiaomi, and Coolpad, all of which are China’s strong, local smartphone brands.

(Source: Counterpoint)

One way to look at it, though, is that it’s Samsung that’s taking all the heat from the Chinese local smartphone vendors. Apple, on the other hand, appears to have still lots of room to grow.

I agree that Andriod is fast becoming what windows was for the PCs. Most of the companies have still not got the OS right and i have seen friends companining about frequent crashes and freeze of the OS on their devices.

At one point of time all the analysts were predicting that Apple will release a bigger iPhone to compete with larger than normal pocket size smartphones but that did not happer and Apple managed to beat Samsung still. I think this shows quite a character of a company which is in the fast paced consumer tech world.

For those who can afford to pay the premium and are willing to be locked into the iWorld, Apple devices win out for their sheer ease of use and robustness. They have turned phones and tablets into appliances that you just need to turn on and start using. Android devices are too buggy for tech-phobic users.

@Krisi: You should wish Apple luck. Samsung's market in China is falling. There are better brands in China like Xiaomi, and they don't cost a ton like Samsung phones. Indigenous producers are more sought after in China, but it can also be seen that a healthy population of the demographic wants to invest in Apple products, and Apple has made a good decision. They would obviously not sail in a market they have no experience on. They?ve had working models and customer support and fan bases from China.

@junko.yoshida: One of the places apple leads is in its mobile phone sector. Chinese markets have too much competition but since it is a growing market with the rich population steadily on the rise, (and since they want premium looking phones rather than Gionee and Xiaomi) Apple will have a great time cruising in China.

If you scroll down, you would see a menu showing "Service" and under that it provides a list of service centers. It provides a number for customer care and provides chat support as well. The list of service center covers almost all regions of India. I do not know about the quality of service but it looks to me that they are well equipped for the job.

@Sheetal: "...chinese models doesnt perform good over a long period of time..."

Well...what do you consider as "a long period" for phones? 2-3 years or more? I think the trend that have already started is changing phones within 1-3 years of time. I see this more for the younger generation and believe that this will increase further. Hence a phone that performs well over 5 years shall be good enough. I do not know much about Xiaomi, but have heard that Xiaomi has good reputation.